Multiple cell galvanic battery

ABSTRACT

A multiple cell galvanic battery and particularly a container assembly therefor comprising a container with individual compartments for the cells and a cover which fits over the container and seals off the individual compartments. The cells are connected electrically in either series, parallel, or seriesparallel relationship by the use of intercell connectors and intercell connecting clips. Battery terminals are sealed to, and extend through, the cover to provide external electrical contact with the battery. The bond between the cover and container supplies sufficient mechanical pressure to maintain good electrical contact between the intercell connectors, cell electrodes and external battery terminals.

[4 1 Mar. 21, 1972 United States Patent Brindley Bradshaw [54] MULTIPLECELL GALVANIC BATTERY [72] Inventor:

3,110,634 11/1963 136/173 3,484,299 12/1969Nybergetal..........................l36/170 Robert Edwin Brindley, NewYork, NY.

Assignee: Union Carbide Corporation, New York, Primary Examiner-DonaldL. Walton N.Y. Att0rneyPaul A. Rose, John F. Hohmann and John R.

Doherty [22] Filed:

[21] Appl. No.:

A multiple cell galvanic battery and particularly a container [52] US....136/l32, 136/134, 136/166,

assembly therefor comprising a container with individual com- 136/ 173partments for the cells and a cover which fits over the con- [51] Int.l/02 .136/132,166,173,108,169,

tainer and seals off the individual compartments. The cells areconnected electrically in either series, parallel,

or series-paral- 136/170, 134 lel relationship by the use of intercellconnectors and intercell [58] Field of Search f d connecting clips.Battery terminals are sealed to, and extend Re erences through, thecover to provide external electrical contact with the battery. The bondbetween the cover and container su UNITED STATES PATENTS pliessufficient mechanical pressure to maintain good electrical contactbetween the intercell connectors, cell electrodes and external batteryterminals.

.136/173 136/173 ...136/132 Rauske et al..........,...............136/173 9 Claims, 8 Drawing FiguresFenoughty.............,........,.....

an a y w Z to eh It on KA 3942 2 46 9999 11.11 0980 1 1 6770 5695 1 15656 7 55 ,3 1 23 Patented March 21, 1972 3,650,841

4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Robert E. Brindl y 2 W ATTORNEY FIG. 2.

I I l I l l l l FIG. 3.

INVENTOR Rob E. rindl y BY dvym ATTORNEY Patented March 21, 19723,650,841

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 mvsmon Robert E. Bri ley M Vx ATTORNEY Patented March21, 1972 3,650,841

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 w FIG. 6.

INVENTOR Rober? E. Brindl y BY MM ATTORNEY galvanic battery and inparticular .to a container assembly for such battery.

Standard galvanic dry cells usually produce an open circuit voltage of.about 1.5 volts. When a higher voltage is required, it iscustomary tocombineamultiplicity of these cells to form a battery having therequired voltage/The cells are usually disposed in a containerandconnected in series, parallel, or series-parallel with externalterminals attached to the container and making contact with the cells.Therefore, a 6-volt battery, commonly used in portable lanterns wouldcontain four 1.5- volt cells connected in series.

.The individual galvanic cells within the multiple cell batteryconventionally may be,connected electrically by soldering leads to theappropriatecell electrodes. Soldering the connections is a costly step,however, in assembling the battery. The soldering must be do nevmanually and consistentqualityconnections are hard to achieve. Also, ifthe batteries are subjected to severe shock and/orvibration, either inshipment or in usage, the soldered joints may-be damaged or sometimescompletely destroyed.

Another more recent type of multiple cell battery .has eliminated thenecessity forsoldered connections to electrically connect the cells. Thebattery utilizes pressure contact conducting strips to achieve proper.intercell electrical connectionoThese strips are usually held in placeby spring means which provide the necessary pressure to insure properelectrical contact between the individual cells and the strips. Thisconstructionhas a lower assembly cost and is more shock and vibrationresistant than the soldered connection type. Military usage, however,has putmore stringentdemands on theability of a multiple cell battery towithstand shock and vibration. It is not uncommon for batteries toundergo sever shock and vibration during usage or shipment,.especiallyin theextraordinary modes of transporting, delivering and use ofmilitary equipment. This severe shock and/or vibration may result indamage to the conventional multiple cell battery.

Another problem with conventional multiple cell batteries is thepossible leakage of corrosive exudate from the individual cells. Due to.the close proximity of the cells to one another, the exudate leakagefrom one cell may promote leakage in the other cells by externallycorroding the outer casing, usually a zinc can, of an adjacent cell.

It is, therefore, an important object of this invention to provide amultiple cell galvanic battery which is more shock and vibrationresistant than those presently available.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a battery havingimproved means for achieving electrical connec' tion between theindividual cells in the battery.

Another object of this inventionis to provide a multiple cell galvanicbattery incorporating means for containing any exudate leakagefrom theindividual cells and for preventing its contact with adjacentcells inthe battery.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a multiple cellgalvanic battery which is easy to assemble and less expensive tomanufacture than those presently available.

The foregoing and other o bjects are achieved by the multiple cellgalvanic battery of the invention which comprises a containerfor theindividual galvanic cells, intercell connectors electrically connectingthe individual cells, and a cover for the container which is soassembled as to provide adequate mechanical pressure to insure goodelectrical contact between the cell electrode s, intercell connectorsand battery terminals.

The novel features of the container assembly, which result in a multiplecell battery of improved construction, include a container which may berectangular, cylindrical, modified cylindrical, or modified rectangular,with partition members disposed within the container forming individual,compartments for the galvanic cells, a cover with webs which fit overthepartition members on the ,open endof the container so as to seal offthe individual compartments, and a bond between the cover andcontainerwhich maintains sufficient mechanical pressure between theintercellconnectors, cell electrodes and battery terminals to insure themaintenance of good electrical contactbetween these members without anyadditional spring means withinthe battery.

-A fuller understanding of this invention will be facilitated by,reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a multiple cell galvanic battery madeaccording to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through battery of FIG. 1;

F IG. 3 is an isometric view of the battery container;

FIG.-4 is a horizontal section taken on line 44 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of an intercellconnector used in the batteryof FIG. 1;

FIG. 6is an enlarged partial sectional view of the juncture of thepositive battery terminal and the cover;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the juncture of thenegative battery terminal and the cover; and

FIG. Sis aview similar to FIG. 4 showing a modification of theinvention.

In particular, and with reference toFIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of theaccompanying drawing, a battery according to this invention, denotedgenerally at.l0, comprises a container 12, having a base 14 and sidewalls,16, partition members 18 integrally formedwith the base 14 andside walls 16, within the container 12 and fonning four individualcompartments in each one of which is disposed an individual galvaniccell 20, a cover 21 integrally formed with webs 24 and side walls 26,intercellconnectors 28, 28a, 28b, electrically connecting the positiveelectrode 30 of one cell 20 ,to the negative electrode 32 of anadjacent'cell 20 and battery terminals 34, 35 which pass through thecover '21 and provide external terminal correction to the batteryassemblyl0. The bond '36 between the cover 21 and the container 12maintains sufficient mechanical pressure between the intercellconnectors 28, 28a, 28b, cell electrodes 20, 32 and the batteryterminals 34, 35 to insure good electrical contact. The bond 36 isformed along the periphery of the coverside walls 26 and container sidewalls 16 and along the intersection of the cover webs 24 and thecontainer partition members 18.

The intercell connectors 28, 28a, 28b are fastened to the cover 21 bysprues 38 and pass through notches 40 in the cover webs 24 to makeelectrical connection with the individual galvanic cells 20. In thearrangement shown in FIGS. 1-3, 13, the intercell connectors 28, 28a,28b connect the positive electrode 30 of each cell 20 to the negativeelectrode 32 of an adjacent cell 20 in series relationship. The batteryterminals 34, 35 are sealed to the cover 21 by an integral seal 42 onthe inside of the cover 21.

A boss 44 is integrally formed with the cover 21 to prevent cellmovement along an axis parallel to the container side walls 16. The boss44 provides added protection against damage when the battery 10 issubjected to severe shock or vibration.

Alignment means 46 are integrally formed with the cover webs 24 toinsure proper alignment between the cover webs 24 and the containerpartition members 18 during formation of the bond 36.

A circular ridge 48 in cooperation with the base 14 forms a crater-likestructure on top of which a galvanic cell 20 rests. Any expansion of thecell 20 due to intercell gases will be taken up by the expansion intothe center of the crater.

It may be readily seen that any type of cylindrical galvanic cell can beused in the battery of the invention. Thus the galvanic cells used maybe of the primary or secondary type and the size or number of cellsutilized may be varied as will readily occur to one skilled in the art.

It mayalso be readily seen that the battery assembly may be modified toprovide a parallel connected battery as shown in FIG. 8. In thisarrangement the intercell connecting clips 28, 28a, 28b may be replacedby one U-shaped intercell connector 52 and intercell 1%clips 50,'50a,50b, shown in FIG. 3, added .to electrically connect the cells 20 inparallel relationship. The clips 50, 50a, 50b, are secured to thecontainer partition members 18 and electrically connect the negativeelectrode 32 of one cell to the negative electrode 32 of an adjacentcell 20. The U-shaped intercell connector 52 electrically connects onlythe positive electrodes 30 of adjacent cells 20. A series parallelconnected battery can be made by utilizing a combination of an intercellconnecting clip and intercell connectors of the type utilized in theseries and parallel connected batteries described above.

An important feature of this invention is the bond between the coverside walls and the container side walls. The bond must have sufficientstrength to keep the necessary contact pressure between the intercellconnectors, the cells, and the battery terminals. The intercellconnectors and the portion of the battery terminals within the containerare made of a flexible conductive metal. The intercell connectors restupon the electrodes and because of the flexibility of these connectors,pressure must be exerted to force the cover side walls against thecontainer side walls for the bond to be formed. In the preferredembodiment of the invention, the bond is ultrasonically formed. The bondby compressing the cover against the container, creates pressure betweenthe intercell connectors, battery terminals, and the cells, therebyproviding good electrical contact.

The bond between the cover webs and container partition members serves adual purpose, i.e., (l) the bond cooperates in providing the necessarymechanical pressure for achieving good electrical contact between theintercell connectors, the cells and battery terminals and (2) the bondin cooperation with the webs and partition members, forms individualcompartments within which the individual galvanic cells are disposed.These compartments serve the purpose of containing any exudate leakagefrom the individual cells and prohibiting the exudate leakage fromcoming into contact with adjacent cells and corroding them during use ofthe battery.

The intercell connectors are arranged in the cover in such a way as toenable placement ofthe cover upon the container in any one of fourpositions, each 90 apart, without imparing the electrical contactbetween the cells, intercell connectors and battery terminals. Also, dueto the internal connector arrangement, all the cells are placed withinthe container compartments with the positive electrode at the open endof the container.

The cover and container materials of construction should be imperviousto the constituents of the cells and electrically nonconductive. Thematerial used must be at least as shock and vibration resistant as therest ofthe battery. The container need not be rigid, since the galvanicdry cells, which are rigid in construction, make the battery assemblagerigid when the cells are disposed with the container.

The cover with cover webs, alignment means and boss is integrally formedby injection molding a suitable plastic such as polystyrene,polyolefins, acrylo butadiene styrene, polyvinyl chloride,polycarbonates, etc. The container with partition members and circularridges is also integrally formed by injection molding a suitableplastic. in the preferred embodiment of the invention the cover andcontainer are molded of a rubber modified polystyrene.

It will be apparent to anyone skilled in the battery art that many typesof battery terminals may be utilized in the battery of this invention.For example, the screw type, plug type, clip type or the coil springtype (depicted in drawings) are some of the battery terminalconfigurations which may be used.

The limited number of parts, consisting of the container, the cover, thegalvanic cells, the intercell connectors, and the battery terminals,makes the assembly of the battery easier than those presently available.The ease of assembly plus the elimination of the need of solderedintercell connections effectively reduces the assembly cost below thatof multiple cell batteries which are presently available.

The following are specific examples of the practice of this invention:

EXAMPLE I A 6-volt lantern battery made according to this inventionconsisted of the following parts:

A rectangular container about 2% inches long by 2% inches square, havingthe corners rounded and one open end; partition members, about 3% incheslong, disposed within and integrally formed with the container; arectangular cover 1 inches long by 2% inches square, having the cornersrounded; cover webs, disposed within the integrally formed with thecover; three intercell connectors of 0.0lS-inch tin plated steel,one-fourth inch wide and fastened to the cover by sprues which passthrough an /a-inch hole in the connectors; four conventional cylindricalcells placed individually within the individual compartments of thecontainer, the intercell connectors connecting the positive pole of onecell and the negative pole of an adjacent cell; and two coil springterminals, one from the positive end and one from the negative end ofthe series battery, extending out through the cover.

E AMPLE! A 1.5-volt multiple cell battery made according to thisinvention consisted of the following parts:

A rectangular container about 2% inches long by 2% inches square, havingthe corners rounded and one open end; partition members, about 3% incheslong, disposed within and integrally formed with the container; arectangular cover 1% inch long by 2% inches square, having the cornersrounded; cover webs, disposed within and integrally formed with thecover; a U-shaped intercell connectors of 0.015-inch tin plated steel,one-fourth inch wide and fastened to the cover by sprues which passthrough 6-inch holes in the connector; three intercell connecting clipsof 0.015-inch tin plated steel, three-sixteenth inch wide and pressurefitted onto the container partition members; four conventionalcylindrical cells placed individually within the individual compartmentsof the container, the intercell connectors connecting the positive poleof one cell and the positive pole of an adjacent cell, and the intercellconnecting clips connecting the negative pole of one cell and thenegative pole of an adjacent cell; and two cap screw terminals, one fromthe positive end and one from the negative end of the parallel connectedbattery, extending out through the cover.

Batteries made according to this invention, having a constructionsimilar to that described in Example I, and conventional batteries havebeen made and tested. The conventional batteries were of the type whichutilize pressure contact conducting strips for electrical connectionbetween cells, which strips were held in place by a spring means toinsure electrical contact. All the batteries were subjected to the sametest conditions, i.e., consecutive free fall drops of 3 feet, 4 feet, 5feet and 6 feet respectively until the battery went open circuit. Thevoltage of the batteries was measured after each drop at the specifiedheight level.

Table 1 below is a compilation of data taken from the above describedtests. The batteries made according to this invention are denotedgenerally as Type A and the conventional batteies are denoted generallyas Type B.

CONSE CUTIVE FREE FALL DROP TESTS A consideration of the data presentedin Table I above shows the batteries made according to this invention tobe superior to conventional batteries in resistance to severe shock.

What is claimed is:

1. A battery comprising, in combination:

a. an electrically nonconductive container having a base,

side walls, and an open end;

b. partition members disposed inside said container, said partitionmembers being substantially parallel to said side walls extending beyondthe edge of said side walls at the open end of said container so as toform open-ended compartments;

c. a multiplicity of galvanic cells, having electrodes of oppositepolarity, individually disposed in said compart' ments;

d. an electrically nonconductive cover having side walls and webs withinand substantially parallel to said cover side walls, said cover beingbonded to said container along the periphery of the side walls and themating edges of the cover webs and the container partition members,coacting to close said compartments about each individual cell, andwherein alignment means secured to the inside pf said cover align saidcover webs with said partition members;

. at least one intercell connector, secured to said cover, on

the inner surface, electrically connecting said cells;

f. battery terminals secured to and passing through said cover arrangedso as to make external electrical contact with an electrode of one celland the electrode of opposite polarity of another cell;

g. the bond formed between said cover and said container maintainingcontact pressure between the cells, intercell connectors, and batteryterminals.

2. The battery defined by claim 1 wherein said intercell connectorelectrically connects said cells in series relationship.

3. The battery defined by claim 1 having at least one intercellconnecting clip secured to said partition member, said intercellconnecting clip and said intercell connector electrically connectingsaid cells in parallel relationship.

4. The battery defined by claim 1 in which at least one boss is providedon the inner surface of said cover to prevent cell movement along thecell axis substantially parallel to said cover side walls.

5. The battery defined by claim 1 in which circular ridges formed on theinside of said base are provided to raise said galvanic cells above saidbase.

6. The battery defined by claim 1 wherein said container, partitionmembers, cover, and cover webs are composed of a plastic material.

7. The battery defined by claim 1 wherein said partition members areintegrally formed with said container, and said cover webs areintegrally formed with said cover.

8. The battery defined by claim 5 wherein said partition members areparallel to said container side walls, and said cover webs are parallelto said cover side walls and notched so as to allow said intercellconnectors to connect in said adjacent compartments.

9. The battery of claim 4 wherein said alignment means and said boss areintegrally formed with said cover.

gg ggg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PatentNo.3,650,841 Dated March 21, 1.972

Inventor(s) Robert Edwin Brind ley It is certified that error appears inthe above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 44 delete "l3,

Column 2, line 72, delete "1 1/8" and inserttherefor connecting Column4, line 8, delete "1" and insert therefor -ll/8-- Signed and sealed this7th, day of- November 1972 (SEAL) Attest EDWARD M.FLET( IHER,JR. ROBERTGOTTS CHALK .Attestlng Offlcer Commissioner of Patents

1. A battery comprising, in combination: a. an electricallynonconductive container having a base, side walls, and an open end; b.partition members disposed inside said container, said partition membersbeing substantially parallel to said side walls extending beyond theedge of said side walls at the open end of said container so as to formopen-ended compartments; c. a multiplicity of galvanic cells, havingelectrodes of opposite polarity, individually disposed in saidcompartments; d. an electrically nonconductive cover having side wallsand webs within and substantially parallel to said cover side walls,said cover being bonded to said container along the periphery of theside walls and the mating edges of the cover webs and the containerpartition members, coacting to close said compartments about eachindividual cell, and wherein alignment means secured to the inside ofsaid cover align said cover webs with said partition members; e. atleast one intercell connector, secured to said cover, on the innersurface, electrically connecting said cells; f. battery terminalssecured to and passing through said cover arranged so as to makeexternal electrical contact with an electrode of one cell and theelectrode of opposite polarity of another cell; g. the bond formedbetween said cover and said container maintaining contact pressurebetween the cells, intercell connectors, and battery terminals.
 2. Thebattery defined by claim 1 wherein said intercell connector electricallyconnects said cells in series relationship.
 3. The battery defined byclaim 1 having at least one intercell connecting clip secured to saidpartition member, said intercell connecting clip and said intercellconnector electrically connecting said cells in parallel relationship.4. The battery defined by claim 1 in which at least one boss is providedon the inner surface of said cover to prevent cell movement along thecell axis substantially parallel to said cover side walls.
 5. Thebattery defined by claim 1 in which circular ridges formed on the insideof said base are provided to raise said galvanic cells above said base.6. The battery defined by claim 1 wherein said container, partitionmembers, cover, and cover webs are composed of a plastic material. 7.The battery defined by claim 1 wherein said partition members areintegrally formed with said container, and said cover webs areintEgrally formed with said cover.
 8. The battery defined by claim 5wherein said partition members are parallel to said container sidewalls, and said cover webs are parallel to said cover side walls andnotched so as to allow said intercell connectors to connect in saidadjacent compartments.
 9. The battery of claim 4 wherein said alignmentmeans and said boss are integrally formed with said cover.